I’ve been a vegan for almost four years now. I still find myself craving certain meals that contain animal products in them and authentic pesto sauce is definitely one of those meals. This is one of my favorite recipes and it certainly satisfies my pesto craving. It is chock full of flavor from the basil and garlic and rich and creamy from the avocado and olive oil. I probably make this three to four times a week. If having a vegan pesto problem is so wrong, I never want to be right.
I’ve made this dish for my carnivorous friends and it is always a crowd pleaser. You can easily adjust this recipe to serve more than one person. The garlic adds a nice bite and a bit of spice because it is in its raw form. The basil has sweet undertones that cleanse and refresh. The nutritional yeast adds a cheesy taste to the sauce. Any vegan will tell you that nutritional yeast is an essential. It smells and resembles the taste of Cheetos. Avocado is nature’s butter. It is rich, creamy, and spreads smoothly over the pasta.
This pesto sauce is perfect on pasta, but I have even put it on toast with sliced tomatoes and topped it off with a balsamic glaze.
Vegan Pesto
Ingredients
Instructions
Place the avocado, basil, garlic and nutritional yeast in the food processor and blend until the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Slowly drizzle in olive oil while the food processor is blending.
Season with salt and pepper
Serve with pasta. I have found that bow tie or shell pasta holds the sauce a little bit better than linguine, but any type of pasta will do.